Mediocrity

Despite St. Augustine's defense of mediocrity, von Balthasar has this to say, probably the most depressing and fatalistic thought he's ever put on paper:

It is strange to see how sharp the dividing line is between those people who are satisfied with an ordinary, quiet life and those who strive for the extraordinary. The latter are rare, and you can almost discern them from a distance. There does indeed exist as well an unhappy intermediate group, consisting of those who are only just capable of envisioning a higher existence, but these know that they lack the substance to realize such an existence in their concrete lives. Grain of Wheat

Certainly puts a thorn in the side of the American myth of being whatever you want if you try hard enough. Those who can, do; those who can't, blog.